dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2023-43115

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.01.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.2, gdevijs.c in GhostPDL can lead to remote code execution via crafted PostScript documents because they can switch to the IJS device, or change the IjsServer parameter, after SAFER has been activated. NOTE: it is a documented risk that the IJS server can be specified on a gs command line (the IJS device inherently must execute a command to start the IJS server).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In Artifex Ghostscript through 10.01.2, the gdevijs.c component allows remote code execution through crafted PostScript documents by allowing a switch to the IJS device or modification of the IjsServer parameter after SAFER mode has been activated, bypassing security restrictions.

MitigationAvoid processing untrusted PostScript documents with Ghostscript; if processing is necessary, run in a strongly isolated sandbox environment. Note this is a documented design limitation where IJS device inherently executes commands.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 38= 39
GhostscriptApplication
Affected:<= 10.01.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed Ghostscript version
    Run 'gs --version' or check package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q ghostscript' on Fedora/RHEL, 'dpkg -l | grep ghostscript' on Debian)
    Affected if Version is 10.01.2 or lower (including any 10.x.x version before the fix)
  2. Verify IJS device is available
    Check for gdevijs.c compiled device or ijs device module in the Ghostscript lib directory (typically /usr/lib/ghostscript or the directory returned by 'gs -h')
    Affected if The IJS device is present and loadable in the Ghostscript installation
  3. Identify if untrusted PostScript processing occurs
    Review any services, applications, or workflows that use Ghostscript to process PostScript documents from external or untrusted sources, such as document converters, print spoolers, or file preview services
    Affected if Ghostscript is used to process PostScript files from untrusted or external sources without strong isolation
  4. Check for SAFER mode usage
    Search configuration files, scripts, or application code that invoke Ghostscript for instances where -dSAFER is used but the IJS device might be accessible or the IjsServer parameter could be modified
    Affected if -dSAFER is in use but the IJS device remains accessible or can be triggered after SAFER is activated

You are affected if you run Ghostscript version 10.01.2 or lower, the IJS device is available in your installation, and you process untrusted PostScript documents (especially with -dSAFER mode, since the bypass allows escaping SAFER restrictions).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.01.2
Interim mitigation

Avoid processing untrusted PostScript documents with Ghostscript; if processing is necessary, run in a strongly isolated sandbox environment. Note this is a documented design limitation where IJS device inherently executes commands.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Ghostscript 10.01.3 or later

  1. Upgrade Ghostscript to a version beyond 10.01.2 that includes the security fix for CVE-2023-43115
  2. For Fedora systems, apply system updates: 'sudo dnf update ghostscript'
  3. Verify the installed version after update: 'gs --version'
  4. Ensure any automated systems processing PostScript documents are restarted to use the patched version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
48.0 hours of engineering $8,360
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-43115 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data